Barbec's founder returns to East Dallas with burger joint Harvey G's

Barbec's founder returns to East Dallas with burger joint Harvey G's

A wall at Harvey G's has a list of things people love about East Dallas.
Photo courtesy of Harvey G's

East Dallas burger alert: There's a new spot called Harvey G's opening in the shopping center at Columbia and Carroll avenues from Barry Brown, founder of Barbec's, the breakfast favorite noted for its biscuits. That "Bar" in Barbec's stands for Barry, though he sold it in 1999.

His new place, which is slated to open in mid-January, is designed as a takeout burger joint, although there's nothing stopping you from snacking in front, Wingfield's-style. There's a simple menu of burgers, chicken sandwiches, chili cheese dogs (featuring wieners from Rudolph's Meat Market), Frito pie, chicken-fried steak, tater tots and cheddar spiral fries. Desserts include soft-serve ice cream cones and shakes. Nothing's over $10; the burgers are $4 to $9.

The name sure sounds a lot like Harvey Gough, the colorful founder of old-timer burger joint Goff's, which Brown acknowledges is no coincidence.

"One of my smart-aleck friends came up with that name," Brown says. "It does sound like Harvey Gough. Let's just say that it's somebody who knew Harvey and was being a wise-ass."

But the name is the only similarity. Brown has his own burger recipe. Harvey G's is not his first burger endeavor. After Barbec's, he opened Airways Hamburgers in Arlington, followed by by Meteor Hamburgers in Wylie.

He's no longer involved with Meteor and only remotely associated with Airways, in order to return to his original stomping grounds, which he celebrates in the restaurant with a mural called "What I love about East Dallas." It's a list of neighborhood staples that includes things like the Santa Fe Bike Trail, Deep Ellum, La Popular Tamale House, Fraternal Order of the Eagles, Lakewood Theater and more.

"We live in East Dallas, too," he says. "We sat down and thought of the places we liked or places that are well known."